A clinical knock from Dutch skipper Scott Edwards, a couple of useful cameos down the order topped off with brilliant bowling all around helped the men in orange consign the Proteas to a 38-run defeat.

The Proteas started off strongly, with the seamers dismissing the top 4 cheaply.

The Netherlands were struggling at 82-5 in the 21st over, and the wickets of Nidamanuru and van Beek pushed them further to 140-7.

However, the domination period for South Africa was short-lived, as Edwards punished the pacers at the back end, and a fiery little innings from Roelof van der Merwe set the tone for a late blast.

Aryan Dutt airbrushed the total to a very competitive score with three big hits. All of a sudden, the Proteas were in a spot of bother.

The chase began with a relatively sedate start from the SA openers, as the Dutch spinners kept things fairly tight.

However, an ill-advised sweep shot from Quinton de Kock brought about the first breakthrough right when the openers looked to settle down.

The procession began when skipper Temba Bavuma was bowled right through the gate off Roelof van der Merwe. Rassie van der Dussen reverse-swept to backward point, and Aiden Markram was at the receiving end of a peach from Paul van Meekeren.

Every time SA looked to consolidate, the Dutch clapped back with a wicket. Heinrich Klaasen looked to be in the groove, but a hook shot straight to deep fine leg opened the floodgates once again.

David Miller tried to stay in the hunt, but his dismissal only confirmed the inevitable.

The lower order managed to lessen the blows, with Keshav Maharaj striking a few late blows to reduce the margin.

This defeat is yet another piece of history that the Netherlands have written, and a wake-up call for SA. There’s still plenty of this WC left, but the middle of the table will be a very intense dogfight from this point on.

NED 245/8 in 43 overs (Edwards 81* – Jansen 8-1-27-2)
SA 207 in 42.5 overs (Miller 42, Maharaj 40 – van Beek 8.5-0-60-3)

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